Oi Ref!!!
You can’t escape technology, it controls everything. We’re quickly becoming its implicit, impassive slaves.
It’s vital for our existence, we depend on it, it watches our every move, it tracks you and knows your slightest whim (you mucky pup, you), soon we’ll be living in an Orwellian nightmare of centralised autocratic control and even the toilet – that last bastion of peace and privacy – will be ruthlessly exposed to our harsh …
Gratuitous snap of World Cup wenches (no extra charge)
American ‘soccer’ certainly appears on the rise following the USA’s recent draw with England. C
apello’s men certainly held no fear for the American team, owing in part most likely, to the fact that many of the players currently ply their trade in the Premier League and/or the Championship, or have experience of it.
The three goalkeepers included in the squad, Tim Howard, Brad …
Ali Bin Nasser 1986
Never has two goals so fitfully defined the football culture of a nation. Diego Maradona’s second goal against England at the Azteca stadium in 1986 demonstrated in full flow Argentina’s passion for the aesthetic, the daring and the improvisation of la nuestra. Maradona’s weaving run epitomized it all. In fact it was a goal of such brilliance it could’ve defined the tournament.
Yet the game is cited far more …
Can we adopt the little blighter?
When Stuart Attwell hangs up his whistle in years to come, the complexion of his autobiography will no doubt be very different to Graham Poll’s ‘Seeing Red’. Attwell’s book will be of the horror genre, and a working title could be, ‘The Tale of Vicarage Road: The Phantom Goal’. Attwell could of course have prequels and sequels, and could call on a whole host of terrible …
Yesterday we looked at ten players signed in the January window by clubs as diverse as Manchester City, Tottenham, Chelsea, Stoke City, Birmingham City and Fulham who have had a real, tangible and positive impact on their clubs since signing. They are the glory boys, the players who made the best of their January transfer window move by grasping it with both hands and repaying the faith the club had in …
Chelsea have had a number of successful managers through the years, number one being Jose Mourinho, but before the Portuguese there was an Italian, a stylish Italian who brought a number of trophies to Stamford Bridge. His name is Gianluca Vialli, a legendary centre forward and accomplished manager; it can be argued he started the Chelsea revolution we see today, laying the foundations for Claudio Ranieri, Mourhino and Carlo …
Long before becoming a star at Liverpool and Tottenham, the young Ronny Rosenthal was snapped up at the age of 11 by his hometown club Maccabi Haifa. Spotted at such a young age, he progressed through the ranks at the club until making his debut as a substitute aged 16, where he came off the bench to score two goals on his debut. The career of ‘Rocket’ Ronny Rosenthal was under way.
It wasn’t all plain sailing in the early years for Rosenthal however. Three years after his debut the coach of Maccabi Haifa at the time, Englishman Jack Mansell, didn’t rate the 19 year old and tried to release him on a free. It was only when Haifa’s president Yochanan Vollach, stepped in and vetoed the decision that Rosenthal was saved from being forced out of the club. Vollach believed in the young Israeli striker and said that the club would not sell him at any price.
A year later Vollach hired Shlomo Sharf and his change of tactics allowed Rosenthal a regular starting role in a three pronged attack that would spearhead Maccabi Haifa’s two Israeli league titles in three seasons. Rosenthal’s performances, he’d now notched 38 league goals in 138 league games, were being noted on a wider stage by the summer of 1986 Belgian side Club Bruges snapped him up for $275,000.
He won the league title with Bruges in 1988 and in the summer of that year Standard Liege snapped him up as part of a swap deal. In his two years in Liege he rediscovered his best form, scoring 24 league goals in 54 league games and attracting interest from abroad. He went on loan to Udinese and then to Luton Town, where he was spotted by scouts from Liverpool who quickly snapped him up on loan for the latter stages of the 1989-90 season.
Rosenthal’s impact at Anfield was immediate. On his debut he scored a hat-trick against Charlton Athletic and his 7 goals in 8 games were an invaluable contribution towards Liverpool’s 18th league title success. Liverpool signed the Israeli striker for £1.1m the following summer and although the rest of his time at Anfield was not as successful, he did make 97 appearances for the Reds and scored 22 goals.
However Rosenthal is probably best remembered in his time at Anfield for the following miss at Villa Park in 1992;
In January 1994, Rosenthal was snapped up by Tottenham for £250,000 and he once again scored on his league debut for the club. However Rosenthal is best remembered by Spurs fans for his incredible performance in an FA Cup tie with Southampton. 2-0 down to the Saints, Rosenthal was brought off the bench to fire an incredible hat-trick and inspire Spurs to a 6-2 win. In his three years with Tottenham, Rosenthal played 100 games, scoring 11 goals.
He finished his career with Watford, initially making a big impact with goals like this one against Blackpool;
However injuries and age took their toll and in 1999, after 35 appearances and 11 goals for Watford, Rosenthal retired from the game.
After retiring Rosenthal remained in England with his family and sons, one of whom is on the books at Watford and he has since become a “Football Consultant”. A job that Rosenthal explains as;
“I just try to give the best advice for the clubs – not only in England, but abroad. I help them find foreign players. I cannot help them with local players – they know them already – but they know less about players abroad.”
At 28 years of age, Nathan Ellington should be in his prime as a striker. After starting out in non-league, he progressed swiftly to become one of the most feared strikers outside of the Premier League. After spending brief spells at Tooting and Mitcham United, and Walton and Hersham, Bristol Rovers snapped the forward up for £150,000 in 1999. At just 17, the “Duke,” as he was nicknamed, made his debut for the Third Division side against Gillingham. His appearances were limited to substitute appearances during the start of his career at the club, but it did not take long for the young striker to establish himself in the first team.
Things really got going for the player in the Second Division during the 2000/01 season as he scored 18 goals. The following season was even more productive as he scored 21 goals in a season which saw him strike a great partnership with fellow striker Jason Roberts. His successful second season with the Pirates first team attracted interest from other clubs, and he was sold to Wigan Athletic for £1.2million in March 2002. His time at the Latics would be the most productive of his career as he scored 59 league goals in three years for Paul Jewell’s side. His goals, along with strike partner Jason Roberts who had also joined from Bristol Rovers, guided Wigan from the Second Division up to the Premier League in three years, finishing 2nd in the First division at the end of the 2004/05 season. Ellington had scored 24 League goals in that Promotion winning season, becoming the league’s top goalscorer in the process.
The 2005/06 season should have seen Ellington release his undoubted talents onto the defences of the Premier League, and with his pace and finishing abilities, he could trouble any opposition defence and engineer space to create opportunities for himself. A dispute over his contract at Wigan however, led the striker to moving for £3m to West Brom at the start of the season. The Baggies had initiated a clause in his contract that allowed him to move for such a low figure, a move which could have been prevented if Ellington had signed a new contract with the Latics.
Ellington blamed Wigan for the failure to sign a new contract and he hoped for good times to continue at West Brom. He however struggled at the Hawthorns as niggling injuries limited his starts for the new club and his inability to stay fit made it hard for him to settle at the club. After not being able to settle, Ellington put in a transfer request in January 2007 which was accepted by the club. Wigan had constantly tried to re-sign the striker during his stay at West Brom but they could never agree on a fee. So Ellington hoped for a new start at Watford, after the Hornets paid a club record £3.25million fee for the striker.
Ellington found it hard to get into the team at Watford though and he was substitute for most of the season as he played second fiddle to Darius Henderson and Marlon King. He managed just 4 goals in the 2007/08 and was shipped out on loan last season to play under former Wigan manager Paul Jewell at Derby County. He initially started well at the club and scored 9 goals before Christmas. He only played 5 more games after the New Year however and only two as substitute under new manager Nigel Clough. 3 goals in 27 league appearances was not good enough to get a permanent deal at Pride Park and he returned to Watford unwanted. He remained in limbo at the club at the start of this season, but was given a lifeline by Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce in August by offering the striker a trial. The trial was unsuccessful though and Ellington returned to Watford, to consider his future. After making 16 sub appearances with the Hornets this term, Ellington once again found himself out of favour and he has now been sent out on loan to Greece of all places, to Skoda Xanthi. Ellington is looking forward to a fresh start in a new league:
“I’m really thrilled to be here and I want to help the team climb higher in the table and even qualify for Europe. This is the first time I’m playing outside of England and it’s a new experience for me.”
The fact remains though that only 4 and half years ago, the striker was on the verge on becoming a promising star in the Premier League, now, he finds himself loaned out from a Championship club to a Greek first division side. How times have changed.
There's often a good reason why players surround referees
There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding referees recently – when isn’t there? – with the debate about diving having been brought up following dives by David N’Gog and Darren Bent. With that in mind, let’s take a look at five of the worst decisions by officials in recent years, all of which are worse than …
Wigan Athletic chairman announced yesterday that striker Marlon King has been sacked from the club after being found guilty of sexual assault and actual bodily harm in a London nightclub. The disgraced King has lost an estimated £2.7m due to his dismissal and as he starts his sentence, he has said that he will launch an appeal against the courts findings and against Wigan over his sacking.
King however joins a …
